Demande En Indication De Mesures Conservatoires Présentée Par Le Gouvernement Du Nicaragua Request for the Indication of Provi
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DEMANDE EN INDICATION DE MESURES CONSERVATOIRES PRÉSENTÉE PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT DU NICARAGUA REQUEST FOR THE INDICATION OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES SUBMI'ITED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF NICARAGUA 514 BORDER AND TRANSBORDER ARMED ACTIONS present inclined to collahorate with the United States in ils policy of claiming virtuc in publie forums whilst ignoring the norms of international conduci on the eround. The indication bv thc Court of measures aonrooriate.. to the cir- L.uni\t:inx. iiciul.l :<iuntcr.id ihi\ p<>licy;inJ inducc ihc crc;iti,iii oi ;i mcini- toriiig \\,sicni uliich wiiuld iiiipro\,e r,>iiditidii\ in thc hordcr rcrion :,nJ pu! certayn a~le~ationsmade again& Nicaragua to the test of truth. - 7. The involvement of the United States in the present crisis affecting Nicaragua's border region is obvious. At the rame time the Court's Order of 10 May 1984 is still in place and ii has been neither withdrawn nor modified in accordance with Article 76 of the Rules of Court. Moreover. the Court rei- terated certain key aspects of the Order of 10 May 1984 in ils Sudgrnent of 27 June 1986 in the case aeainst the United States. Whilst mv Government is very conccrncd about the;cccnt actions of the United ~tatés,involving the emplacement of 3,000 combat-rcady troops in thc vicinity of the border, in al1 the circumstances il bas decided that a further request for measures directed to the Unitcd States would Iack point. 8. In accordance with Article 73. paragraph 2. of the Rules of Court the Government of Nicaragua respectfully requests the Court to indicate the fol- lowing measures of protection: (a) The making of an enquiry either on the basis of the provisions of Article 50 of the Statute of the Court or on the basis of the provisions of Article 66 of the Rules of Court investigating in siru the recent incidents in the Bocay region and the causes of such incidents. (b) The rccommendation hy the Court of the creation of a group of observers by the appropriate organ of the United Nations to monitor incidents in the border region. (c) The right of Nicaragua to territorial sovereignty should be fully respected by Honduras. (d) The duty of the Govcrnmcnt of Honduras to observe the principlc of non-intervention in the affairs of Nicaragua and, as a consequence, the duty of that Government to terminale ils policy of giving refuge and other forms of assistance to the contra forccs operating from within ils territory. Y. In conclusion^ my Government has instructed me to convey to the Court the sensc of urgency with which this request is necessarily attended. The Hague. 21 March 1988. (Signed) Carlos ARG~ELLOG., Agcnt of Nicaragua. A'iTACHMENTS TO THE REQUEST FOR THE INDICATION OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES Managua. March 18th 1988. To the Right Honorable Carlos Lopez Contreras. Minister of Foreign Relations of Honduras. Dear Minister, Dccply concerned, 1 address myself to you in order to inform you of the following events: On March 17th 1988 at 12.00 noon, 2 jets peneiraied Nicaraguan airspace from Honduras and launchcd 5 rockets in thc rcgion of Amaka in the border zone between both couniries. at the moment when Lieutenant Colonel Javier Carrion. De~utv. Chief of the General Staff of the Szindinista Po~ularArmv. u,ns offcrin- ;i prcrs ~onfcrcnîcfi~r il n:iiii~n.il :inJ forcign ~<~urn:ali,ts.Su~h ireachcro~\a1t;ick. \\,idel! covercJ the )nurnaI~st<prc~cnt :(t the 1aic;ition of the action, was carried~outwithoui any provocation. That sanie day, at 16.40 p.m. a jet, also coming from Honduran airspace, attackcd the region of San Andrcs dc Bocay in Nicziraguan territory on thc border with Hondurzis with 2 air-10-surface rockcts. Soon afterwards. the airplane returned to Honduran ziirspace. The Government of Nicürzigua presents ils most resolute and vigorous protest about these attacks against Nicaraguan territory. which reflect the fact that the Government of Honduras still refuses io conduct ils rclations wiih Nicaragua within the framework of international law and the treaties in force. The actions I have referred to are not only cxtrcmely grave iii them- selves but also vcry dzingcrous because they occurred at the precise moment when the Government of thc Unitcd States was surcadine an intensive cam- in order to trigger an intervcntionist adventure zigainst Nicaragua. The facts 1 have referrcd 10. whcn added to the maintenance of tolerancc and support by the Government of Honduras for ihe military and pziramili- iary activities carried oui by mercenary groups at the service of the North American Government from Honduran soil. arc more ihan sufficient and irrr.ftitable proiil no1 onlv th:it H.,ndur;ii h3r no! fulfillcd thc F>quipul:i5 ,\&recmcnt\ h! 5upporting irrcgulnr gruulh ddno! pre\cntiiig the use of ils lcrrilclr? :i. :I hx%c<>l ,#g&r?sion :ig,;iin\t iïiczir;i<ua. but ihat on thc ,.oiitr;iry. Iiiinilurii> rhoui II~I,ign. of ;in\ Jr.i:rmin.ition fulfil ihcm in thc iuturc. On~c:i?:iin. thr, <ii~icriiiii~~i~Iof Si::ir:i:u:$ iii\it~rthe C~oicriiiliciltut I-I<iil- duras to heed the legitimatc intcrests of the Hondurcin people and to accept the oresence of the UN0 Tcchriical Mission in order to carrv out an in siril inv&iigation as the basis for the procedure necessary for t6e disarmament and relocation of mercenary. groups. presently locatcd ai the border between Honduras and Nicaragua. 516 IiOKDliR AND TRANSBORDER AKMED ACTIONS 1 take this opportunity to assure Your Excellency of my highesi considera- tion. Miguel D'ESCOTOBROCKMANN, Minister of Foreign Allairs. Managua. Nicaragua. March 19th 1988. To the Right Honorable Carlos Lope2 Contreras. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tegucigalpa. Honduras. Dear Minister, 1 address myself to Your Excellency to give an account of the following acts: 011 \I;irch IXtIi I)etwcen I'Jiiti aiid ?I 011 p ni . n yr~iupiif ;ipprosiiii:itcl~30 mcrcenarici. procccding from Il<indur;in territory. pcncir.itcJ Sic:ir:igu:in u~il in thc >r,ci<,r<if ihc \':illc de 'l'urrc~.5 kiiii ni)rtli.cnst ,il Si,iiii~tiIIc~.miip co.ur. dinates 4508. This group had a confrontation with a Sandinista ~opulirArmy Unit, leading to ihe consequent death of a member of Our army, Josi. Dimas Rodriguez Rios, and the wounding of soldiers Anastasio Sanchez Zamora, Javier Velasquez Povcda, Leonidas Adan Rivera Ramos and Osman Sanchez Corrales. On the side of this terrorist group. two mercenaries died. Considcr- able military equipment of different kinds was seizcd. Thc rest of the group flcd towards Hondurün territory. through the El Coyol route, at map co-ordinales 4708. This infiltration was openly backed hy the Honduran army by way of harassment witli gunfire against the Sandinista Popular Army Post located at Palo Grande Viejo. half a km wesi of Somotillo. at map CO-ordinales35-98-4. 1- must~~~~~~ also~~-~ inform Your Excellencv. that on March 15th of this vear. air- planes proceeding from Honduras commitied three violations of Nicaraguan airs~ace,and after their incursion, returned towards Honduran ierritory. ~imilarviolations of our national airsoace iook dace in similar conditions on March 16th. 17th and 18th. with 4.'10, and 19'air incursions respeciively. All this, amounts Io ;i total of 26 violations of Nicaraguan sovereignty. 1 must cmphasize that on v:irious occasions these incursions were accompanicd by attacks on Our tcrritory. In face of these repeated. unjustified and treacherous acts of aggression against the Republic of Nicaragua, 1 convey to you Our resolute and vigorous protest. Simultaneously. 1 wish to inform you that Our Agent at the Interna- tional Court of Jusiicc has been instructed to rcquest immediately that ihis institution of justice indicate the interim protective measures to be taken in the case concemine Border [in[/ Trunsbor~lerArr>ierl Actiorrs initiated bv the Re- public of ~icakgua. Such decision constitutes yet another proof that the Government of Nica- ragua, faithful to ils obligation to seek for peaceful solutions to thosc situa- tions which threaten international peace, opts for means of settlemcnt of differences to which it is obliged to resort under the agreements contained in the United Nations Charter and the Bogota Pact. Similar motivations are de- rived from my couniry's deep concern for the establishment of a jus1 and ATTACHMENTS TO THE REOUI?ST 517 long-lasting peace in the rcgion; a pçace that your Covernment insists on cn- dangcring in an unjustified and irresponsible manncr. 1 take this opportunity to assure Your Excellency of my highest considera- lion. Miguel D'ESCOTO BROCKMANN. Minister of Foreign Affairs. Managua, Nicaragua, March 19th 1988. To the Right Honorable Carlos Ldpez Contreras. Ministcr of Foreign Affairs. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Dear Ministcr, Once agaiii I am obliged 10 üddress myself to Your Excellency, in order to report ihe following attacks: Today, March 19th, between 08.00 and 08.30 am.. two F5 airplanes origi- nating in Honduran territory flew over the regions of Mukuwas. San Andres de Bocay, Waniwas and Wayawa. located approximately 12 kms inside Nicara- guan ierritory. and they procceded to bomb and machine-gun these locations. Latcr. between 14.35 and 14.45 p.m.. two F5 airplanes again flew over the region of Amara and Bocav located 8 kms inside Nicaraeuan territorv. Thev drEppcd 4 bombs on ~andiiisiaPopular Army positionsyn these zoncs. ~ub- sequently, the planes returned to their sanctuary inside Honduran territory. The Government of Nicaragua vigorously and formally protests in vicw of this series of aggressions zigainsi Nicaraguan territory, to which should bc added the illicit bombings.